"We are Europe's new generation"

The Allianz Summer Academy (ASA) was founded in 2004 with the objective not merely of regarding Europe as an object for academic study, but of experiencing it for real. Since then the Summer Academy for selected students from European universities has taken place every two years, taking turns with the Alumni Academy where former ASA participants meet to keep in contact and exchange ideas.

This year, too, 27 students from 18 countries and the following five universities gathered together: Graduate Institute (Geneva), Central European University, CEU, (Budapest), the Luigi Bocconi School of Economics (Milan), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, LMU, (Munich) und Charles University (Prague). They had responded to the adverts placed with their home universities, made an application and been selected by the ASA coordinators. Selection criteria include international experience, a pronounced interest in European issues and excellent social skills.

This year the key topic of the Allianz Summer Academy was the following: "The EU in the international arena - ready to compete?" Thomas Kösters, ASA participant from LMU Munich, was somewhat surprised about the considerable workload required: "For eight months, alongside all of our exams, we met once a week with our coordinator to prepare our team report. Sometimes this wasn't easy, but in the end it was well worth the effort." The topic of the LMU report, for instance, was: How green is Europe? - Will the European climate policy pay off?

At the start of the Allianz Summer Academy, Henning Schulte-Noelle, Chair of the Allianz Supervisory Board and Chair of the Foundation Committee of the Allianz Cultural Foundation, welcomed the students. Next the renowned British historian Harold James, Professor of History and International Relations at Princeton University, New Jersey, United States of America, gave his guest lecture. Michael Thoss, Head of the Allianz Cultural Foundation, summarized the lecture thus: "In his key note speech Harold James emphasized that the competitiveness of our social market economy rests, last but not least, on common value perceptions that make it attractive to other cultures. This really impressed our students."

Finally the university teams were mixed up randomly in different workshops, in order to prepare presentations on different aspects of the Academy's theme that contributed to the final manifesto and were hotly debated in a concluding round. Coordinators/observers, organizers and other guests such as Professor Harold James alike, but also the students found it fascinating to see at what high level and with what enthusiasm the issue of Europe, its competitiveness and current crisis, was being debated - no matter whether the topic of discussion was values, the labor market, the healthcare system or the euro crisis.

Felipe Basabe Llorens, one of the founders and moderator since ASA's beginnings, found this year's Academy particularly special: "I have never been happier. The group has been fantastic and very harmonious. It's a great project. I've been able to witness an evolution. Now ASA is just running under its own steam, because we have such a big pool of students, alumni and experience. But there is always room for improvement – next time I would love to have students from universities in Scandinavia, Turkey, India and Russia with us."

But not only the statements of individual participants and the lively discussions are fascinating, so are the students' résumés. Michael Tyrala from Slovakia, a student at CEU Budapest, has a résumé that testifies to a wealth of international experience. Since he sees no economic opportunities in Slovakia, he has studied in many different countries and will go and work in the US after completing his Masters degree in European Studies this year. He has joined programs similar to ASA before, but had the feeling that ASA was the best, most challenging academy of all, uniting participants of the highest intellectual caliber. The only thing he would like to improve is to make the selection of students even more interdisciplinary to avoid "main stream" discussions."

Hannah Dönges from Berlin is reading Political Science at the Graduate Institute in Geneva and sounds just like an American, which is not really surprising because she spent a year in France and another year in the US before embarking on her studies. She greatly appreciates life in Geneva, because it is the second most international city, right after New York. Eventually she would like to have an academic career and specialize in transatlantic relationships, so she will move to the US next year.

Zuzana Hudakova from Slovakia, whose astute and well-founded contributions are particularly impressive, is also at university in Geneva. She finds the ASA fascinating and inspiring, because all participants are ready to defend their own opinions. She is particularly looking forward to the manifesto: "I hope the manifesto will be daring, but still achievable”. In her opinion, the European crisis is a genuine opportunity: "I am very committed to environmental issues - the crisis may even help bring about positive changes for the environment."

Gabriel Geisler Mesevage is the only American among ASA participants and is also studying in Geneva. He is a great fan of Europe. Having attended St. Andrews University in Scotland, he would like to remain in Europe after finishing his degree. "I am also a great fan of interdisciplinary work - this is why I am particularly impressed by the high intellectual level and the free exchange of ideas at this Summer Academy. All we need now is for a philosopher to join us."

The students not only have many innovative ideas, they also do not lack self-confidence. Nicola Benatti from the Luigi Bocconi School of Economics in Milan sums this up: "We are Europe's new generation and we want to contribute our own innovative ideas."

Once again Michael Thoss is more than content with the results of the ASA. The hope is not only to present the manifesto to Angela Merkel's advisor on Europe, among others, but also for Harold James to take it to Princeton and debate it with his students. And at the next but one ASA, there will be another first: students from Princeton will take part for the first time. Naturally, the topic will be transatlantic relations. This will make the ASA even more international. And perhaps one of the students will even be a philosopher.

 
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